Feel Like I Eat too Much

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DrJackson6
DrJackson6 Posts: 156 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My daily calorie limit is 1450. I work out 6 days a week and burn approx 950 each workout session. My problem is that, while my calories calculations stay within the 1450, I feel like I am eating way too much to be losing weight. I always thought that losing weight meant that I have to and should feel deprived; however, I do not. My calories are mostly consumed near the end of the day.

Breakfast: Greek Yogurt with granola
Snack: Babybel Cheese
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Frozen Meal
Snack: Babybel Cheese and fruit
Dinner: Small portions of whatever I cook for dinner that day
Snack: Something sweet under 150 calories.

This usually totals to around 1450. This is a lot of food and as previously stated, I always thought that I should feel deprived.

Any thought?

Replies

  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    I always thought that losing weight meant that I have to and should feel deprived; however, I do not.

    ^ This is likely the problem here.

    My calories are mostly consumed near the end of the day.

    Breakfast: Greek Yogurt with granola
    Snack: Babybel Cheese
    Lunch: Lean Cuisine Frozen Meal
    Snack: Babybel Cheese and fruit
    Dinner: Small portions of whatever I cook for dinner that day
    Snack: Something sweet under 150 calories.

    This usually totals to around 1450. This is a lot of food and as previously stated, I always thought that I should feel deprived.

    Any thought?

    My thought is that this isn't a lot of food and I could probably eat double that in 1 sitting. I'm not saying this to be a douche, just for the record.

    I would ditch the thought that you need to feel deprived. The bigger question is, are you successful on this plan?
  • C00lCountry
    C00lCountry Posts: 282
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    From he way it is worded, you are not eating your exercise calories back.

    You may not be eating enough if that is the case.
  • RoughDiamondUK
    RoughDiamondUK Posts: 151 Member
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    If your daily target from MFP is 1450 calories a day, then you should be eating that *and* the 950 from your exercise to lose weight in the healthiest way.
  • jillcwhite
    jillcwhite Posts: 181 Member
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    Do you have a heart rate moniter that tells you what you burn in your workouts? I found out that calories the site extimates for us isn't always the correct number. Mine are sometimes half the calories. And Good Question is - Is it working for you?
  • brneydgrlie
    brneydgrlie Posts: 464 Member
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    No, you are certainly not eating too much. The idea that you need to be deprived to lose weight is hogwash. If you deprive yourself of regular meals for a long period of time, your metabolism will slow down in an effort to conserve energy, making it HARDER to lose weight. Plus, if you are working out several days a week like you do, you want to make sure you get regular meals containing adequate protein. Otherwise, you run the risk of your body using muscle tissue for energy, rather than fat. This leads to muscle LOSS, which is the exact opposite of what you want.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    My daily calorie limit is 1450. I work out 6 days a week and burn approx 950 each workout session. My problem is that, while my calories calculations stay within the 1450, I feel like I am eating way too much to be losing weight. I always thought that losing weight meant that I have to and should feel deprived; however, I do not. My calories are mostly consumed near the end of the day.

    Breakfast: Greek Yogurt with granola
    Snack: Babybel Cheese
    Lunch: Lean Cuisine Frozen Meal
    Snack: Babybel Cheese and fruit
    Dinner: Small portions of whatever I cook for dinner that day
    Snack: Something sweet under 150 calories.

    This usually totals to around 1450. This is a lot of food and as previously stated, I always thought that I should feel deprived.

    Any thought?

    Do you feel well? If so, it is suiting you.
  • DrJackson6
    DrJackson6 Posts: 156 Member
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    Thank you all for your comments. Yes, It is working for me and I do feel well. However, I did not realize that I should be eating my workout calories. Maybe I will allow myself to eat my workout calories on Sundays. I will definitely invest in some sort of heart rate monitor/calorie tracking device to get a more accurate account of what is really going on.

    Thanks again for all of your comments, I do appreciate them.
  • HelloSweetie4
    HelloSweetie4 Posts: 1,214 Member
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    It took me a while to figure out that loosing weight does not mean I have to deprive myself or feel hungry all the time. I eat more now than I did before MFP, just the food choices are healthier and spread out throughout the day. And make sure you're drinking your water!
  • dawnagetsfit
    dawnagetsfit Posts: 81
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    Thank you all for your comments. Yes, It is working for me and I do feel well. However, I did not realize that I should be eating my workout calories. Maybe I will allow myself to eat my workout calories on Sundays. I will definitely invest in some sort of heart rate monitor/calorie tracking device to get a more accurate account of what is really going on.

    Thanks again for all of your comments, I do appreciate them.

    You should not be feeling deprived at all - food is fuel for you body as gas to a car so as long as you are within your NET calorie goal then most definitely eat.
    I have the same daily NET calorie goal as you and I do eat quite a bit, more so when I am eating clean foods (fruits, veggies, lean meats, etc.). Most days I eat back about half my exercise calories which brings my total NET calories to about 1,200. I've been losing steadily about 1lb a week for a few months.

    I second the suggestion about getting a HRM. I have the Polar FT4 which calculates my calories burned and have found that I burn a couple/few hundred more calories than online fitness calculators and MyFitnessPal were estimating.

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